Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-06

the man on wa .ch removed. 1t was
about 7 o'clock in the evening when
Foxen died. The turnkey slept on q
cot in the other corridor. At midnight
he was awakened by call, and he
went to the door OF the other corridor
to find F,xen standing there in good
health, and to hear him say;
81 wasn't on hand to supper, but
I'm hungry and will take it now."
The outside public hears very little
of what goes on in prisons. | had no
intention of permitting the world to
know what human curiosity l had got
hold of. I wrote statement to the
Governor, feeling that he would be per-
sonally interested, and the queer mis-
take made by the doctors was sufficient
to prevent them from gossipping aloud.
His instructions or suggestions were to
double the watch on Foxen, and not to
bury his body, in case he died" again,
without q post-mortem examination.
I had no further anxious experiences
with my prisoner until three weeks be-
fore the date of his execution. Then
third woman came, this time from But.
falo, to claim him as her son, Joseph
Parker. Before permitting her to see
him l made her furnish a close descrip.
ton. HIS picture had been published
far and wide, and she might have de
tected fancied resemblance. So |
reasoned, but she gave age, height and
weight very correctly. described his
limp. and gave the location of moles,
scars and O birthmark exactly. There
seemed no reason to doubt that she was
really and truly hi mother. When
l brought them face to face his de-
meauor was exactly the same as in the
two previous instances. He called her
mother, asked about other members of
the family, aud was not iu the least
embarrassed to keep up conversation
lasting an hour. He did not shed IL
tear nor evince the least emotion, while
she was greatly broken down. She was
the third mother who had identified him
as her son, while one mother had been
assisted by the father. What was to be
thought of such strange state of affairs?
Who of the three were mistaken? Why
did Foxen permit each of the three to
identify him and weep over him?
l did not double the watch on him,
knowing that the one man was trusty in
every sense OF the word. Understand l
had two men-one for day and one for
night--but while one watched the other
slept. The watch sat at the door of the
corridor on q chair--insde, of course
There were six cells in there, all of
which were locked except the one occu.
pied by Foxen, and had the key in my
own pocket. Each door had State
prison paddock, and the key had not
entered one of them since Foxen was
placed in the corridor. am just as
certain that the five cells were locked as
am that breathe at this moment. So
was the death watch to the day of his
own death. Two days after the last
mother called the bell which the watch
was instructed to pull in case anything
happened sounded in my ears at mid
night, and 1 tumbled out of bed and
ran down stairs without stopping for
anything.
"He's gore" were the words which
greeted me as reached the heavy door
on the inside of which the watchman
stood.
1 unlocked the door and went in and
locked it after me. Foxen's cell was at
the farther end, his door was wide open.
l walked to it and looked in. HIS bed
was empty, so was the CELL
II can't make it out" whispered the
watch, who was pale and trembling.
"He went to bed about 9 o'clock. 1
looked on him every half.hour, and each
time he seemed to be sleeping. At ll:30
o'clock he was on the broad Of his back,
with hands locked under his neck. At
midnight he was gone"
"You might have slept"
"On my life, no; but if had the door
was locked when you came down, and
you see the bars to the windows are all
right"
'1 examined each bar in turn, and
then passed along the front of the cells
and flashed the light into each. In the
third cell sat Foxen, armes folded, eyes
looking into mine, and his face wearing
q sneering expression. When l un.
locked the padlock-and I'm telling you
that I did have to unlock it-and
opened the door he came out and
walked to his cell and fang himself on
the bed. The bottoms, tops and sides
of those cells were of great flag stones
and boiler.iron. Aside from the regular
en- rance by the door, there was no way
by which even q mouse could make his
way in. How had Foxen accomplished
it? As we asked this question OF each
other-the watch and I've had pale
faces. Perhaps you will argue that the
D adlock on that particular door was,
after all, unlocked, and that he went in
by the door. In the first place, in re-
ply, he could not have left his cell with.
out arousing the watch, even had the
latter been doing, which was barely
possible. In the next place, how could
have any theories about it. I am re-
lating Incidents just as they occurred.
and it is for you to form theories.
Just week before the day fixed for
his execution Foxen called me into the
corridor just as he had awakened from
q sleep lasting several hours. He had
more inquiry and anxiety in his face
than had ever detected before.
ibid kill any one?" he brusqely de-
manded, as he stopped short in his
walk.
I looked full into his face to see if he
was joking, but there was nothing but
seriousness there.
"You killed farmer named Stevens
about five months ago, and a week from
to-day you are to be hanged"
"Well!" he screamed, almost jumping
clean off the floor.
repeated the statement
my God, mol" he gasped. 81 did
not kil1 hiut Thav ,rust not hang
nae"
1.-THE evidence against you was so
positive that the lawyers assigned you
could not find the slightest foothold to
help you. There are the blood stains on
your garments this day."
II am . murderer! to be hanged!"
he repeated in an incredulous tone.
"Who was my lawyer? Where is he? I
must see him at once"
ut is too late. No lawyer can save
you now. Tomorrow shall begin the
erection of the gallows."
As he looked at me his face paled;